Habitual physical activity improves outcomes among patients with myocardial infarction.

Purpose: This study evaluates the association between habitual physical activity (HPA) and the outcomes of patients with myocardial infarction (MI).

Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with MI were divided into two groups based on whether they engaged in HPA, defined as an aerobic activity with a duration of no less than 150 min/week, before the index admission. The primary outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), cardiovascular (CV) mortality, and cardiac readmission rate 1 year following the index date of admission. A binary logistic regression model was applied to analyze whether HPA was independently associated with 1-year MACEs, 1-year CV mortality, and 1-year cardiac readmission rate.

Results: Among the 1,266 patients (mean age 63.4 years, 72% male), 571 (45%) engaged in HPA, and 695 (55%) did not engage in HPA before MI. Patients who participated in HPA were independently associated with a lower Killip class upon admission (OR = 0.48: 95% CI, 0.32-0.71,  < 0.001) and a lower prevalence of 1-year MACEs (OR = 0.74: 95% CI, 0.56-0.98,  = 0.038) and 1-year CV mortality (OR = 0.50: 95% CI, 0.28-0.88,  = 0.017) than those who did not participate in HPA. HPA was not associated with cardiac-related readmission (OR = 0.87: 95% CI, 0.64-1.17,  = 0.35).

Conclusions: HPA before MI was independently associated with a lower Killip class upon admission, 1-year MACEs, and 1-year CV mortality rate.